14:51

In a night of spiritual-political satire and activist
entertainment, Alan
Clements ignites conscience by celebrating freedom of
expression and the power of the human heart. A former director of
Amnesty International called Clements one of the most compelling
voices of our times. Critics have described Alans spoken word
performances as existentially cathartic, enthralling and
hallucinogenic, a brilliant deconstruction of spiritual and
cultural propaganda that addresses head-on the insanity of war,
climate change and the commercialisation of consciousness.

As a former Buddhist monk in dictatorship-ravaged-Burma and a
journalist in areas of extreme conflict, including the former
Yugoslavia, Clements riffs on issues of violence and nonviolence,
compassion and greed, servitude and freedom, meditation and
indoctrination, from his personal experience and a rare satirical
humour, while giving audiences a captivating expression on how WE
the PEOPLE can safeguard ourselves from spiritual and political
propaganda. And in so doing, relearn active citizenry by liberating
our own minds from fear, apathy, and cynicism.

Alan has gone far beyond the spiritual in his show to include
the topic everyone is yearning to understand the longing for love,
being unmet time and again, loss, grief, dishonesty, being misled,
accountability, and the breathtaking epic beauty of true love and
romance (even if it does not last because one or the other or both
gets spooked and scapegoats the other) and how these human needs
get shafted by spiritual propaganda so often found within
meditation, yoga, and mindfulness circles or cults, depending on
where the money flows.

What does it mean to be spiritually incorrect? Do you think all
the great spiritual leaders probably would be deemed incorrect?

Alan Clements: To me, spiritual incorrectness is not a dogma a
thing. Its a way of being, free a courageous act of conscience, a
liberated personal choice of shameless authenticity. Its also
having the bravery to resist servitude, conformity, and collusion
and all manner of numbing down. Why contort ourselves into an image
of Anything God, Yoga, Oprah? Why subjugate our voice to sing
in...

14:46

With North Byron Parklands (NBP) in
Yelgun seeking residency approval and an increase to 55,000 patrons
for their flagship festival event, Byron Shire councillors have
raised concerns with a notice of motion at last Thursdays ordinary
meeting.

NBP is home to Splendour in The
Grass and Falls festivals.

Mayor Simon Richardsons motion was
supported by a majority of councillors (Cr Hunter against) which
says, Council does not currently support the proposal including the
increase in attendance numbers, event types, and event days on the
North Byron Parklands site beyond what has already been approved
until its concerns as raised within its submission are
satisfied.

Additionally, Council is
unsupportive of the planning departments recommendation that
Parklands self-monitor its compliance and, that any consideration
of ongoing events must include an independent monitoring process,
with the involvement of Council.

14:27

As President Trump is considering the case of former US Green
Beret war hero Matt Golsteyn, here's a reminder of the way Hillary
Clinton and The Left views our heroes. Thanks John for the tip.
Merry Christmas mate!

14:14

Cardinal George Pell has become the highest-ranking Vatican
official to be convicted on several counts of child rape.
Pell, who served as senior advisor to Pope Francis, was found
guilty by an Australian court last [...]

14:12

Professor Sloan writes in The Australia today about the IR
settings if Labor gets back behind the wheel, we should expect: a
hybrid arrangement in which unions will be able to pick and choose
whether industry-wide bargaining, single-enterprise bargaining or
award adjustment based on compulsory arbitration will be the
preferred...

13:39

A new governance model to deliver
affordable housing in the Shire was launched last Tuesday by Cr
Paul Spooner.

He addressed the first Byron
Community Land Limited AGM at the Community Centre and said a
subsidy of roughly 33 per cent is needed to make housing affordable
in the Byron Shire.

No current government is willing to
commit to that level of ongoing subsidy, he said.

We need to create a different market
one that doesnt monopolise property, but rather frees it up for
community members to build or rent houses to live in. The aim of
the Community Land Trust, he says, is to acquire land and hold it
in trusteeship as a common heritage, not as an individual
possession.

Land is put to use in an
environmentally and socially responsible manner, and leased long
term to individuals for housing, production of food and the
development of enterprises or activities that support community
life.

The lease agreement (up to 99 years)
becomes the specific, flexible, legal means by which the interests
of the community and the individual leaseholder are explicitly
described and protected in accordance with the policies of the
trust.

Three types of members are proposed,
says Cr Spooner: general, resident and foundation
members.

As for governance, the board would
comprise at least nine directors, including three public
directors.

12:53

On the first day of the COAG Energy Council meeting in Adelaide
yesterday (Tuesday December 18), two citizens entered Senator Matt
Canavans press conference and stood either side of him bearing
#StopAdani signs. Interrupting his opening statements, they asked
him why he supports the Adani coal mine.

One of the pair, Donna Smit, 49, said,I interrupted Senator
Canavan because Queensland is burning up and he wants to fuel the
fire.

More coal means our bushfires, droughts and storms will be even
more deadly. I want to know why Senator Canavan, in all good
conscience, supports the Adani coal mine when scientists are clear
we must leave thermal coal deposits in the ground.

Senator Canavan hides behind the minimal jobs the Adani mine
will create, as if coal is the only way we can provide for our
families. The Adani mine threatens farmers livelihoods and the
70,000 jobs reliant on a healthy reef.

The federal government must help communities reliant on coal to
transition to a cleaner economy of renewable energy, she said.

Jamie Dunn, 23, who held the other sign, said, as a young
person, the opening up of the Galilee Basin to new coal mining will
have a catastrophic effect on my future.

Climate change is the single biggest threat to my generation and
Senator Canavan is determined to make it worse. I will not stop
until the Galilee Basin is protected from coal mining for good, he
said.

11:46

Danish authorities have concluded that the situation in some
parts of Somalia is safe, and that Somalis no longer have valid
grounds for asylum. Following a review of the situation in Somalia,
which began in 2017, residence permits will therefore be withdrawn
for no less than 1,000 Somalis. It is...

11:42

MP scandals undermine democracy from within 12:00AM DECEMBER 19,
2018 Former assistant minister Andrew Broad will leave parliament
next May but, like other scandal-prone MPs before him, he will
leave a legacy of deeper distrust and cynicism about politicians.
His alleged conduct flying to Hong Kong to meet a...

11:06

Of late, Australia decided to dispatch a sea-patrol plane to the
vicinity of the Korean peninsula under the pretext of keeping a
close watch on the DPRK's violation of "sanctions resolution."

The defense minister of Australia said that Australia would
maintain pressure upon north Korea until the latter takes measures
for CVID, noting that the recent step is aimed at blocking the
evasion of sanctions and illegal dealings of north Korea and
organizations involved.

This cannot but be called into question as it is a very
unreasonable act of going against the trend towards peace created
on the Korean peninsula and the region.

Thanks to the DPRK's proactive measures, a good atmosphere has
pervaded the Korean peninsula this year in line with the aspiration
and desire of humankind for peace and stability.

Now the neighbouring countries and many other countries actively
support the hard-won trend of dtente, hoping this trend would be
lasting and durable.

It is evidence of positive actions to further develop the trend of
the situation that voices calling for detente and lift of sanctions
on the DPRK rang out at the recent G-20 summit.

Contrary to the efforts of the international community, Australia
is chilling the peaceful atmosphere created on the Korean peninsula
and the region, regardless of the time.

It dispatched a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane and two AP-3C patrol
planes to Japan in April and September. It was for the purpose of
watching the sea-borne trade of the DPRK's vessels.

In October it took the lead in committing acts against the DPRK by
dispatching a guided-missile cruiser to the waters off the Korean
peninsula while talking about "economic and diplomatic pressure on
north Korea".

If it seeks to get its status acknowledged by infringing upon the
sovereignty of an independent country in the region which is of
weighty significance in preserving peace and security of the world,
it would be little short of pricking its own eyes with its own
fingers.

The Australian authorities should not forget the bitter lesson of
history that they were taught in K...

10:41

Area 17 on Saddle Road. While the plan
to rezone the entire area was canned by council, it is now looking
at other ways to allow an eco village to develop. Image
supplied

An eco-village proposal near the
Brunswick Heads highway interchange at Saddle Road is back on the
table after councillors voted last Thursday to include it within
the Rural Land Use Strategy.

The Brunswick Eco Village (BEV)
proposal was initially pegged on land owned by Kelvin Daly, but
later, plans were expanded to include surrounding lands and a
commitment for 20 per cent affordable housing.

Yet the proposal appears to have landowners on the
ridgeline divided, and Council eventually rejected the larger
proposal.

He told The Echo the
resolution removed the BEV proposal from consideration within the
draft Residential Strategy.

This was undertaken following advice
from the Department of Planning that it would not be supported as
it was not in an urban area.

To maintain it there would have
effectively stopped it from being considered. A very poor outcome
for our community.

The decision on Thursday proposes an
amendment within the Rural Land Use Strategy to allow the land to
be considered as an intentional eco-community providing at least 80
per cent affordable housing.

This supports Councils strategic
planning. It allows the provision of affordable housing where there
is none. It supports the intention of responding to the housing
needs of residents and workers.

A very big win for our
community.

What has been agreed to on Thursday
opens up a clear planning pathway but does not ensure the proposal
will succeed.

This will be determined when a
planning proposal is submitted by the applicant and assessed by
Council according to the Rural Land Use Strategy that requires it
be amended and supported by the Department of Planni...

10:38

Every week an Australian woman is murdered by her current or former
partner and Australian police are at the forefront of that crisis,
responding to incidents of domestic violence every two minutes.

But this week a Queensland police officer was stood down from duty
after being accused of leaking the address of a domestic violence
complainant to her former partner.

Senior Constable Neil Punchard will face court next month after
being charged with nine counts of computer hacking.

The Senior Constable allegedly accessed a confidential police
database to look up the woman's details then allegedly passed them
on to her former partner, who was subject to an ongoing domestic
violence order.

Statement from the QLD Police Service:The Queensland Police Service (QPS) conducted a
review into a matter which led to further inquiries being
conducted. As a result of this criminal investigation, an officer
was issued with a Notice to Appear for nine counts of computer
hacking.The Queensland Police Service holds substantial intelligence and
information holdings and takes information privacy very seriously.
All members are required to adhere to QPS policy and procedures
concerning the access to and use of this information. The QPS
provides significant training to all members on the use and access
to confidential information contained on QPS databases.Training on the use of these databases commences with recruit
training and continues throughout the member's service. Such
training includes online learning products and face-to-face
training on how to use the information contained in the databases.
Breaches of QPS policy and procedures are subject to a robust
internal investigation process. It would be inappropriate to
comment further at this time due to matters before the
court.

10:37

Have you seen the ABC documentary about Waterloo called There
Goes Our Neighbourhood?

Quote All over the globe public housing is under siege.

And now its Australias turn.

Whichever major party is in power across Australian states the
despicable covert privatisation of Public Housing and public land
is likely to continue, because whats driving it is money, power and
mega-profits.

Homelessness of course will worsen!! The homeless, to our shame,
are our internal refugees

Personal testimonials (1)

At a meeting in Gronn Place in West Brunswick earlier this year,
we heard from Louise who spoke about her sisters experience in
Millers Point in Sydney.

When the government said they wanted to renew Millers Point,
they said the main reason was that it was costing too much in
maintenance. I can tell you right now, they spent nothing on
maintenance. People had to paint their own places, had to replace
their own stoves. The government spent nothing.

In Millers Point, to get them out, they offered them the world
not telling them they were finding them alternative accommodation
by throwing those (public) tenants out. The same pretext they said
to existing tenants, Youll only be out for 3 monthsand well fix the
place up. In the meantime, they brought in people from Millers
Point.

Theres two reasons why people live in Public Housing. The first
reason is they choose to because of their community. Secondly, they
cant afford any other accommodation, either temporarily or
permanently. There has to be a place in our society for people who
cant afford to buy or pay high rents. Everybody is a
citizen.

Regarding the displacement process underway in Melbournes
inner-city under the Labor government

Louise: People have mentioned the government coming along with
pieces of paper and smiles on their faces. What happens is they
tell lie after lie. The minute people give up their place in Public
Housing theyre heading down the road of homelessness for a number
of reasons.

...

10:33

By James ONeill New Eastern Outlook 18.12.2018 When the current
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison floated the idea that
Australia might move its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, it was widely suggested that this was an attempt to
curry favour with the relatively large (12%) Jewish population in
the electorate where []

10:04

AFTINET is a network of both individuals and 60 community groups
including including unions, churches, environment, public health,
aid and development, womens groups and others advocating for fair
trade (also called trade justice), based on human rights labour
rights and environmental sustainability.

Donald Trumps rejection of trade agreements and aggressive use
of unilateral tariffs, and One Nations similar policies in
Australia have tapped into resentment of current neoliberal trade
policies, which for many people have not delivered
promised jobs and growth, and have contributed to growing
inequality.

Trump and One Nation have mobilised this resentment from a
conservative and racist perspective, fanning ultra-nationalist and
anti-immigrant sentiment. But their simplistic responses of high
tariffs on imports will not magically restore lost jobs. Building
walls and discriminatory migration policies based on fear will not
improve peoples lives but will bolster militarism and the danger of
war.

AFTINET is part of the global movement of
progressive groups supporting peace, human rights and global
solidarity. We are not opposed to trade, but want a more just
global trade system

What Trumps rupture with some neoliberal trade policies
does demonstrate is that they are not immutable
economic rules resulting from market forces, but political
decisions that can be changed. As advocates for trade Justice we
must seize the opportunity to challenge bad policy and develop
alternatives which benefit the majority, not just the top 1%.

Whats wrong with current trade policy

Fundamentalist neoliberal trade policy as practised by the
Coalition Government aims to achieve not only zero tariffs but also
zero other barriers to all trade and investment.

Each country should specialise in its most narrowly-defined
competitive products or services, import everything else at the
lowest possible prices, have no active industry policies and
minimise other government regulation. Australia would be a farm and
a quarry, with deregulated service industries like tourism and
financial servi...

09:43

At ANZs annual general meeting in Perth this morning, questions
will be asked of CEO Shayne Elliott about the banks failure to
compensate Cambodian farmers pushed off their land to make way for
an ANZ-funded sugar plantation.

Keren Adams, a Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights
Law Centre, said that ANZs failure to take any responsibility for
the consequences of its actions was shocking:

ANZ has profited from serious human rights abuses. They admit
that their systems were lacking and as a result, they funded an
initiative that destroyed the lives of hundreds of Cambodian
families.

In 2011, ANZ provided a $40 million loan to Phnom Penh Sugar,
which had forcibly displaced hundreds of local farming families and
employed school-aged children in dangerous conditions at its
sugarcane plantation in southern Cambodia. The loan was recently
found by an Australian Government complaints body to contradict
the banks own internal policies and international human rights
standards.

In October, in response to questioning about this decision, Mr
Elliott
told an Australian Parliamentary Committee that what had
happened in Cambodia was a dreadful situation and that the bank
would look to do the right thing with the profit made from the
loan. However the bank appears to have subsequently backed away
from those statements. In a letter sent to interested
stakeholders this week, the bank suggested the farmers should
instead look to the Cambodian government for compensation, despite
the governments known intimidation tactics.

After Mr Elliotts recent public comments, the Cambodian families
left destitute by this land grab were looking to the bank to do the
right thing. The banks decision is another slap in the face for
them, said Ms Adams.

We call on ANZ to immediate divest the profit from its loan to
Phnom Penh Sugar to help address the harm caused to these
families.

A statement to be provided to shareholders by NGOs Equitable
Cambodia and Inclusive Development International outlines a further
five recent cases in which ANZ has allegedly financed companies
implicated in land grabbing and other serious human rights
violations.

09:36

Unfortunately this problem is just the tip of the
iceberg, where the entire legal system i.e. from the administration
to the judges, is responsible for the fraud, causing harm,
defrauding the good people of Australia of their homes and
livelihood.

Will the victims ever see 'justice'?

Probably not, as it's not on the agenda of the
administration of this colony.

See article from 26 Nov 2018 by The Age publication of the
headline:

IBAC charges police officer over alleged
18-month fraud spree

A senior Victorian police officer has been charged over an alleged
18-month crime spree that included claims of fraudulently obtaining
six properties, rorting Centrelink, postal theft, making false
claims to bank staff and claiming she was someone else.

The sergeant from Corio did not face Melbourne Magistrates
Court on Monday when the extent of her alleged offending
investigated by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption
Commission was revealed.

Sergeant Rosa Rossi handing out "Dont make it easy for the Thankful
Thief" brochures during a promotional event in Wyndham in
2016Credit:Damjan
Janevski

Sergeant Rossi is accused of deceiving locksmiths to fraudulently
take possession of houses in Malvern East, Chadstone, Brooklyn and
three rural properties in Willaura, about 230 kilometres west of
Melbourne.

On January 4, 2017,
Sergeant Rossi allegedly wore her police uniform to the
offices of Hobson Bay Council, where she allegedly induced a
council employee to provide personal details of an alleged
victim.

She also allegedly accessed the police database LEAP, without
authorisation, to acquire information about the owner of a Malvern
East home in October 2016.

A month later, she allegedly obtained the property by deception
after telling a locksmith it was a deceased estate and she was the
owner, according to charge sheets obtained by The Age.

09:15

The proposed bus
interchange is pegged for the rail corridor. Indicative plans are
available at Councils Mullum office. Image supplied

Transport for NSW have declined to
provide any details on the recent announcement of a proposed Byron
bus station within the rail corridor and proposed Butler Street
bypass.

The announcement was part of the NSW
governments $9.5m bypass funding, which Council staff say is the
amount needed to complete the long-awaited project.

But according to Butler Street
resident and president of the Butler Street Network, Paul Jones,
despite formal requests, there has been no consultation with locals
on the bus interchange.

Jones told councillors last Thursday
in morning public access that there will be adverse impacts on
amenity given the size and scale of this proposal. He also refuted
the mayors response concerning legal intimidation launched by
former GM Ken Gainger:

The following questions were put to
Transport for NSW but there was no reply:

Who did Transport for NSW consult
with apart from Council staff in the lead up to this decision? Who
made this decision, and What is the expected cost of this project
and is there any documentation available?

A Transport for NSW spokesperson
only answered the question: Will Transport for NSW be consulting
with residents on these plans?

They said, The Byron Bay community
will soon be able to provide feedback to the proposed transport
interchange on the NSW Environment and Heritage website when it
goes on public display.

Plans for the proposal will be held
at the Byron Shire Council office, and available to view the same
day comments are [accepted] by NSW Heritage.

08:47

Last week Prime Minister Scott Morrison proposed the creation of
a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, after months of refusing to do
so.

The intensity of public pressure and loss of a parliamentary
majority forced the issue.

It is tempting to see this as a major back down. But things are
not always quite what they seem. There is no intention to set up a
commission to properly tackle corruption in Canberra. A smokescreen
to cover up public anger against lack of action is being
erected.

Its there is black and white, in the paper submitted last
Thursday, which boldly states that the CIC will not investigate
direct complaints about ministers, members of parliament or their
staff received from the public at large.

The implication is that information passed on by a whistleblower
will not be followed up either.

All that the CIC will be mandated to do is take referrals from
established government agencies and regulators. This means that the
machinery to edit out what the government does not want pursued is
in its hands. After all, these agencies operate under the
guidelines provided by the government of the day.

Even if specific government direction does not exist, hurdles
and delays conveniently in place, to make it much harder for
any complaints to be heard.

The Federal Police, for instance, has a mandate to investigate
corruption. But its track record is nothing to brag about. If those
who have some information to pass on, have to go to the Federal
Police, and wait for them to build a case, and pass it on to the
CIC, it may be a very long wait, if anything is done at all.

This will send out the message that making a complaint is a
waste of time.

Secondly, any case coming under suspicion, must meet a perceived
threshold test of criminality on paper. But how is this to be
tested?

Those involved in corruption do not put their behaviour out
there in public to be seen. Cracking cases must involve following
up leaks and pulling aside the cloak of secrecy. The CIC will lack
the power to do this.

Thirdly, even if a case reaches the CIC, all it is empowered to
do is hand over the case to a special prosecutor, who will decide
whether a criminal case should take place. Who appoints the special
prosecutor?

This is a CIC without teeth.

Every indication is that there is significant corruption in
Canberra. The high number of multi-million contracts, widespread
connection between those in the political system and the corporate
world, and the penetration of the business lobbyists provide
fertile territory to induce payments for favours.

08:30

Its six days before santas scheduled arrival
and the Mullumbimby Neighbourhood Centre is in a state of
controlled Christmas chaos.

As the regular Wednesday jam group belts out
John LennonsAnd so this is
Christmas, about 40 locals sit on the
grass enjoying a free festive lunch, while another 20 patiently
wait to be served.

On the street out front, staff and volunteers
are helping to unload a ute-load of goodies from an anonymous
donor.

As Centre coordinator Leseera Kai takes a
quick break in the relative calm of her office she reflects on the
incredible collection of donations that have poured in over the
past few weeks.

This community is amazing I tear up when I
think about how generous they are, she says.

People really want to give, they just need a
vehicle to do it through, to help make it happen.

Among the many acts of generosity this year is the
donation of $3,000 worth of gift cards from a grassroots community
drive organised by a local school teacher.

She basically took it upon herself to create a
gift card drive, Ms Kai says of the teacher, Amanda
Webber.

Ms Webber set up donation points at her home
and Brunswick Heads cafe Jones & Co and then used Facebook to
spread the word.

The idea caught fire, with scores of cards
pouring in from across the local area and as far afield as Israel
and Canada.

Weve never had such a generous donation of
gift cards, people really got behind the cause, Ms Kai
says.

Gift cards are brilliant because they give
people that dignity to choose what they want.

People who are vulnerable or marginalised
often have a feeling of not being in control of their lives. A gift
card gives them the power to get the toy their child has been
asking for all year, or just to eat what they want on Christmas
Day.

...

08:27

At the root of all this is freedom
of speech. If we wish to preserve and extend our liberties or
maintain our democracies, we need to understand this. We must equip
ourselves to practice it well, educate our young to understand
how unusual such liberty has been in human history and how
difficult it is to maintain. Paul Monk

Every once in a while, The Australian commissions an articulate
and respected conservative commentator to pen a piece on a topic
dear to its editorial heart. He (these worthy souls are invariably
old, white blokes) duly oblige, for kudos or cash or both, and yet
are careful not to become ensnared in the NewsCorp echo-chamber
that houses the more virulent and predictable of its opinionistas.
Historian Geoffrey Blainey recently managed such as arabesque when
writing about the controversial Ramsay Centre (see The Ozs Lonely
Crusade). Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson did
likewise in a tribute to Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn (see
Ghosts of the
Gulag).

Australian author Paul Monk has done likewise when
invited to ruminate on free speech in western universities. Instead
of laying into left-wing uni students and the so-called Green Left,
the btes noir of columnists like Chris Kenny, Gerard Henderson and
Janet Albrechtsen, Monk refused to sing their song. Instead, he
reminds us of our history and of our responsibility as democrats
and reasonable folk to maintain dialogue with and endeavour to
understand the reasoning (or its dearth) of our ideological
opponents. History has shown us that once the shouting stops, the
shooting often starts.

Often, I am disappointed, saddened even, by the
ignorance, naivety, and self-absorption of electorates, left and
right: their lack of historical knowledge and of curiosity, an
unhealthy and self-defeating habit of accepting facts, narratives
and theories based upon their preconceptions and prejudices.

Nowadays, it often seems as if the reasonable middle
has been excised from political discourse, drained out by the
shrill voices of the extremes with their identity politics, virtue
signalling, and vested interests. Social media has exacerbated the
situation as folk lock themselves into their own echo chambers,
listening only to those with whom they agree, ignoring or even
avoiding contrary opinions and perspecti...

07:38

There will be extra urban and rural
residential bin collections over the Christmas period from Monday
December 24 till Friday January 4, 2019, to help residents manage
extra waste and recycling during the festive season.

During this time, residents can
place all of their bins at the kerbside on their normal collection
day. This includes red, yellow and green bins for urban residential
households, and red and yellow bins for rural residential
households.

Recent changes

Also there have been recent changes
to what can be recycled. Council only accepts hard plastic bottles
and containers, glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminium cans,
paper and cardboard.

Recycling bins should not contain
any soft plastics, including any type of plastic bags. Rinse any
excess food and drink from all bottles, containers and tins.
Additionally dont bag, box or contain recyclable items for the
recycling bins. Other non-organic items should go in the red
bin.

06:50

China would continue with its strong
Communist Party control of its society as it sought to further open
up its economy, Chinas President Xi Jinping said in a landmark
speech yesterday celebrating the countrys 40 years of reform.

The speech, made at the Great Hall of
the People on the 40th anniversary of the reforms made by Deng
Xiaoping in opening the economy in December 1978, was a signal that
the Communist Party intended to strengthen its control over China
and its people, while focusing on delivering further improvements
in the countrys standard of living.

Chinas President Xi Jinping applauds during a celebration
meeting marking the 40th anniversary of Chinas reform and opening
up policy. Picture: AFP

In his 90-minute speech, which did
not contain any new announcements, and was focused largely on his
domestic audience, Mr Xi highlighted the countrys economic
achievements, including lifting more than 740 million people out of
poverty and building the worlds largest social security system with
an age pension covering more than 900 million people and medical
insurance covering 1.3 billion.

China had also become the worlds
largest exporter and the worlds largest holder of foreign exchange
reserves.

Mr Xi said China now stood tall and
firm in the East, following the unprecedented miracle of the past
40 years, and would continue to step up its role as a player on the
global scene.

But he said its rise from near
poverty to the worlds second largest economy would not represent a
threat to any other country, and China had no intention of using
its economic power to seek dominance over other countries.

China does not represent a threat to
any one country, he said. China will never seek hegemony.

But he said no one was in a position
to dictate to the Chinese people what should or should not be
done.

The speech, which made no reference
to Chinas trade war with the US or the trade negotiations with the
Trump administration, was seen as a disappointment for observers
who had been hoping it might signal Mr Xi was planning further
reforms of Chinas economic system, which is still dominated by
state-owned enterprises. The private sector is now also exp...

03:43

I am sure that readers would be expecting this post to be about
Donald Trump, who has given us many great moments in presidenting
by virtue of his grifting, incompetence, and sheer brazen lying.
But this is actually about Sri Lanka where the president there
seems to be trying to give Trump a run for his money when it comes
to making impulsive and stupid decisions without thinking things
through, feeling that the sheer office of his office was sufficient
to make any decision he makes become reality.

I wrote earlier about the crisis in Sri Lankan politics that was
triggered on October 26th by the decision of the president
Maithripala Sirisena (MS) to
summarily fire the prime minister Ranil WIckremesinghe (RW) and
replace him with the leader of the opposition (and former
president) Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR). RW insisted that MS did not have
the constitutional authority to fire him and refused to vacate the
official residence. Meanwhile MR appointed his own cabinet to run
the government even though he tried but failed to show that he had
the support of the majority of parliament, a necessary requirement
to form a government in a parliamentary system.

So we had an impasse with, depending how you looked at it,
either two prime ministers and two governments or no prime minister
and no government, and there were rowdy scenes of fisticuffs in
parliament and public demonstrations in the streets as the two
sides claimed legitimacy. The rest of the country went about its
business as this craziness went on.

The president MS had apparently never heard the sage advice that
when you are already in a hole, you should stop digging. In an
effort to end the impasse without backing down, MS then issued a
proclamation dissolving parliament and calling for new elections.
This was challenged in court and the Supreme Court ruled on
Thursday that the constitution prohibited the president from
dissolving parliament until a specific time had elapsed and since
that time had not as yet been reached, his order was invalid.

There did not seem to be any resolution without somebody backing
down in an embarrassing public defeat, something that rarely
happens in politics. But that actually happened. The issue got
resolved suddenly with MR resigning as
prime minister and MS swearing RW in again as prime minister.
This has to be seen as a serious loss of face fort he president. I
think that there will be such general relief that this whole mess
has been resolved without too much violence that embarrassing legal
technicalities, such as why RW had to be sworn in again as prime
minister if he had never been legally r...

02:42

Tropical Cyclone "Owen" brought extremely heavy rains to parts
of Queensland, setting a new Australian December daily rainfall.
Owen made its first landfall well north of Cardwell, Queensland
early December 10, exited into the Gulf of Carpentaria and......
Read more

01:29

When the current Australian Prime Minister Scott
Morrison floated the idea that Australia might move its Israeli
embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it was widely suggested that
this was an attempt to curry favour with the relatively large (12%)
Jewish population in the electorate where a by-election was being
held.

Following the governments humiliating defeat in an
electorate it had held for more than a century, the idea was
expected to die. That possibility was reinforced by the widespread
criticism that followed the prime ministers announcement. That
criticism was couched almost solely in terms of the damage such a
move would do to Australias relationships with its near neighbours
such as Indonesia.

Supporters of the Prime Minister also argued that
moving the embassy to Jerusalem would enhance progress in the two
state solution to the problem between Israel and the
Palestinians.

More recently however, the Australian cabinet has
approved the idea that the embassy should be moved, but not
immediately. The delay was purportedly on cost grounds, financial
cost that is, not reputational.

Almost completely missing from news bulletins and
mainstream media analysis are the arguably far more important
elements in the Tel Aviv Jerusalem equation.

The term international law is now avoided in
political discourse, for the very good reason that the actions of
the western powers do not sit well with adherence to international
law.

The invasions, occupations, and attacks upon
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, among others this century alone
make the point. In all of these illegal endeavours Australia has
been a willing, indeed eager, participant. This is quite apart from
Australias own violations of, for example, the Convention on
Refugees and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Australian politicians als...

00:15

Journalists working as
factcheckers for Facebook have
pushed to end a controversial media partnership with the social
network, saying the company has ignored their concerns and failed
to use their expertise to combat misinformation.

Current and former Facebook
factcheckers told the Guardian that the tech platforms
collaboration with outside reporters has produced minimal results
and that theyve lost trust in Facebook, which has repeatedly
refused to release meaningful data about the impacts of their work.
Some said Facebooks hiring of a PR firm that used an antisemitic
narrative to discredit critics fueling the same kind of
propaganda factcheckers regularly debunk should be a
deal-breaker.

Theyve essentially used us for
crisis PR, said Brooke Binkowski, former managing editor of Snopes,
a factchecking site that has partnered with Facebook for two years.
Theyre not taking anything seriously. They are more interested in
making themselves look good and passing the buck They clearly dont
care..

A former employee at
Amazons BWI-5 facility in Baltimore, Maryland contacted the
International Amazon Workers Voice to describe what can only be
called a nightmare of corporate red tape.

Hired in 2016, the 25-year old workerDwas a permanent warehouse
employee, meaning he had surpassed the standards of the internet
giant and had survived the corporations onerous and indefinite
probationary period without an infraction, allowing them to receive
minor benefits granted to permanent workers.

Unfortunately, job protection and the right to a fair hearing
were not among the benefits that were listed. In August 2017, D was
terminated from his position as a warehouse associate for allegedly
stealing an item of food from the in-house food vending systema
Twix ice cream bar. I had been in a conversation with friends
before my shift started and forgot to pay for it at the Canteen
[vending company] kiosk, he said.

As I began my shift, I was approached by one of the managers and
was told that I had been called to the Human Resources office.
Waiting in HR, D struggled hard to figure out why the manager had
requested his presence. I finally realized that I had forgotten to
pay [for the ice cream]. The worker noted that he had a tendency to
be forgetful but had never stolen anything in his life or had any
previous infractions at the company.

D was about to enter a...

21:07

Originally posted on Waking Times Phillip J. Watt, Contributor
Long story short; French citizens have revolted for the fourth week
in a row calling for changes in governmental and corporate design.
Even though UN Military and thousands of French police
have been deployed in response, the police have actually
been filmed removing their helmets in solidarity with the
French []

20:07

Originally published by Paul Gregoire at Sydney Criminal Lawyers
on July 5th 2018 but given the recent uprising in France its about
time I shared this. Its as though our so-called leaders got wind of
what was in the works in France with the yellow vest movement as it
was started back in may! This []

18:27

Madagascars election on Wednesday could have major implications
for the future of the islands environment and wildlife and by
extension, its rising ecotourism sector says a prominent
conservation scientist. In an op-ed published this week in Al
Jazeera, William F. Laurance, a researcher at James Cook University
in Australia, warns that if Madagascar elects former president
Andry Rajoelina, the countrys dwindling natural resources could
face renewed assault. Under Rajoelinas previous reign, which
followed a 2009 coup, Madagascars forests, wildlife, and coastal
waters were pillaged. Rajoelina himself was linked to trafficking
in rosewood timber: Upon his removal, a stash of rosewood logs was
found in the presidential palace, writes Laurance. A critically
endangered indri lemur (Indri indri), the largest lemur species.
Photo by Rhett A. Butler. The environmental devastation under
Rajoelina continued through his successors Hery
Rajaonarimampianinas rule, with a surge in deforestation and an
auctioning off of community-managed fishing areas to foreign
industrial fleets. With 95 percent of Madagascars lemurs classified
as as either endangered or critically endangered, there is a real
risk that a Rajoelina presidency could diminish some of the islands
biggest attractions for nature tourists. We can see Rajoelinas
predatory attitude to the environment as demonstrated by his track
record, writes Laurance. One must only look to the appalling state
of the Malagasy rainforests to witness his rapaciousness.
Appallingly, one of Rajoelinas first acts was to legalize the
felling of precious hardwoods by executive decree, he continues.
The illicit trade flourished: after a year of

16:48

Get set for set times! You can now view who, when and where each
artist will be playing at Falls Byron this year
and grab yourself a 3-day or 1-day ticket! Anderson.Paak
and The Free Nationals will ring in the New Year on the
main stage and Toto will bless the rains down in Africa
with a sunset set on the last day so start setting your
planners in the official Falls app for your daze and nights. Not
long now, Falls kicks off in just over one week! Download for
iPhone and Android now.

LA HENGE and HOWL & MOAN STAGE
Local artist Amac has lovingly curated an arts and culture
extravaganza for Falls Byron this year. At La Henge arts precinct a
cavalcade of delights awaits, including cardboard battlefields
created by Boxwars, a rip snorting punk showcase of 10 local bands
programmed by local DIY legends Howl & Moan Records, the
inclusive dance stylings of Bring A Plate and daily comedy and
workshops curated by the infamous troublemaker Mandy Nolan.

JACK DANIELS BARRELHOUSE
Jack Daniels will be hosting an intimate lineup at their
purpose-built Barrelhouse venue onsite at Falls Byron! Get yourself
front row with the likes of The Vaccines and Cub Sport, Hockey Dad
(DJ set), West Thebarton, Tia Gostelow and heaps more!

15:55

1. 0116/18 Sportsbet TV Free-to-air A man is seen naked from the
waist up and appears to be manscaping. Upheld Number of complaints:
793 Issues of concern: 2.1 Discrimination or vilification, 2.2
Exploitative or degrading, 2.3 Violence and 2.4
Sex/sexuality/nudity 2. 0113/18 ...

15:39

By Jeremy Salt Source Australia and Israel are white settler
states, established violently over the heads of the indigenous
people, without the benefit of any treaty arrangement. A land
without people for a people without land was the Zionist lie. Terra
nullius was the Australian white settler equivalent. Australian
aboriginal ownership was collective and traditional. []

15:23

Support and wellbeing of survivors is, and always should be, at
the heart of this issue, said Anna Brown, incoming CEO of Equality
Australia and Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law
Centre.

It is imperative that there are stronger laws and support for
survivors, and also education about the harm caused by the cultural
ideas and messaging prevalent within faith communities.

Its fantastic that the ALP has listened to survivors and
researchers. Changing their policy to reflect that gay conversion
is broader than therapeutic practices and acknowledging that the
ideology behind gay conversion is also harmful, is an important
step toward protecting the community, said Mr Csabs.

The changes in the ALP platform reflect a key recommendation of
the Human Rights Law Centre and La Trobe University
Report ...

15:07

This research from the Centre for Transformative Work Design brings
together findings from a literature review with a comprehensive
analysis of 59 FIFO studies, a survey of more than 3000 FIFO
workers, in-depth interviews, surveys of FIFO partners and former
FIFO workers, and a study that tracks how workers experiences vary
across five points of a swing.

The findings across all of these sources of evidence are
remarkably consistent. The research shows that, even when taking
account of associated risk factors such as age and education, there
is a greater risk of mental ill health amongst those workers
operating under FIFO work arrangements. Indeed, one third of the
3000 FIFO workers surveyed experience high or very high levels of
psychological distress, as measured on an extensively validated
scale.

Crucially, poorer mental health and riskier alcohol and other
drug use are risk factors for suicide, and both of these risk
factors are present in the FIFO sample. In addition, FIFO workers
have a demographic profile (gender, age, education, job role) in
which suicide likelihood is greater, while also reporting feelings
of loneliness, stigma, bullying and perceived lack of autonomy.
Altogether, this pattern of findings suggests that FIFO workers are
likely to be at greater risk of suicide.

15:03

The Strategic Framework for Suicide Prevention in NSW
2018-2023 was developed by the NSW Mental Health Commission
and the NSW Ministry of Health in collaboration with people with
lived experience of suicide attempts or losing a loved one to
suicide, government agencies, mental health organisations and
experts in suicide prevention.

14:59

I mailed you a letter (copy enclosed) back in August of this
year, 2018, in which I requested an Inquest into the April 19, 2013
death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. I am writing to you now to
demand an inquest into the death of another person
whom we will have to call John Doe.

At famous shootout took place on Laurel St, Watertown, in the
wee hours of April 19, 2013, allegedly in connection with the
Boston Marathon bombing that occurred four days earlier.

14:35

The final girder is installed on the
Richmond River bridge at Broadwater, part of the Woolgoolga to
Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade. Image supplied

The last girder has been installed on a new bridge over the
Richmond River at Broadwater, part of the Woolgoolga to Ballina
Pacific Highway upgrade.

But if you are getting excited about the prospect of driving
over it any time soon, you will need to cool it: The new bridge
will not open to traffic until 2020, weather permitting.

Federal Page MP Kevin Hogan (Nationals) said the new bridge,
which is the second-longest of 170 bridges on the Woolgoolga to
Ballina upgrade, provides a critical link for the 155 kilometres of
new dual carriageway and I am glad to see it getting closer to
completion.

This is the first time a bridge this wide has been built in
Australia with a single precast headstock, meaning that there is a
shell for each column to support the load of the girders, he
said.

This has reduced the need for temporary construction work,
eliminating 20,000 hours of working, which has not only saved time
but also improved safety for workers.

NSW roads minister Melinda Pavey (Nationals), said the

project team had made impressive progress to successfully
install all 234 girders, weighing 80 tonnes each.

This included safely installing nine girders above the existing
Pacific Highway at night and installing 81 girders from a barge in
the river, Mrs Pavey said.

14:23

The Independent Commission Against Corruption has raided the NSW
Labor Party headquarters in Sydney on Tuesday morning. The Herald
understands investigators arrived at the Sussex Street offices,
looking for records as part of an ongoing investigation. Senior
union and Labor Party officials are in Adelaide for the ALP
National Conference...

13:50

In August 2012 Mr and Mrs Ralph and Ruby Blewitt had a difficult
conversation. Ralph explained to his wife that he'd been involved
in union corruption in Australia during the 1990s. And he said he
was going to go back to Australia to fess up. Ruby comes from a
lovely...

13:11

13:09

Via: Ars Technica: Signal, one of the most secure messaging
apps, essentially told Australia this week that its attempts to
thwart strong crypto are rather cute. By design, Signal does not
have a record of your contacts, social graph, conversation list,
location, user avatar, user profile name, group memberships, group
titles, or group avatars, Joshua []

It ruled that Officer E, as he has been identified, used undue
force against the teenager, who was naked and disorientated when
approached by police in Lateen Lane, outside Nomads Backpackers in
the early hours of January 11.

The LECC found Officer E used a baton to strike the teen some 19
times, constituting an inappropriate use of excessive force.

The LECC issued its ruling in September, following its Operation
Tambora investigation. It has now delivered a Brief of Evidence to
the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions together with its
recommendation to press charges.

It is now up to the DPP to determine whether to proceed.

The senior constable was one of five officers involved in the
youths arrest.

11:37

You say you love your children above all else, yet you are
stealing their futures right before their very eyes. This
15-year-old activist just called out world leaders for their global
inaction on climate change.

11:29

Fresh off the plane, a trail across the world left
on the maps, I walk through the picturesque German town I have
chosen as the location for my future stories. Ill walk these
streets past bright coloured houses with wooden shutters as I fight
to earn that expensive piece of paper in endless hours of
studies.

I enter the administration office, one of the many
cornerstones of bureaucratic Germany. A thick line on the floor
warns me to not take another step. Good citizen that I am, I halt
right in front and maintain discretion as requested. The room
smells like a stuffy office that has never heard laughter. Three
clerks sit behind their narrow desks and stare at flickering
screens from the early 2000s.

One of them raises her voice to explain a line of
incomprehensible instructions in the type of administrative German
even natives have trouble understanding. Her client stares back in
confusion. I sigh and stare at the shiny literature given out by
the government to make sense of the many hoops and never-ending
forms that frame German life. This is the third time Im here,
waiting for another form to fill out for my landlord amidst snarky
comments from the staff regarding my incomplete pile of
documents.

As her last client passes me by, a document smelling
of fresh ink in hand, a clerk waves me over. I sit down as her
fingers dig into the keyboard. She doesnt look up.

What can I help you with? she says in a monotone
voice.

Id like to register my residence, I reply.

Do you have the certificate of tenement provision
filled out?

Yup, I say. Now were talking.

Your identification papers?

I hand her my folder of documents and wait in
silence as she examines them.

Please be patient for a moment, Miss, she says and
starts punching the keys again, asking questions occasionally.

As I endure the procedure, I observe the clerk at
work, wondering what she might do in her free time.

Before I know what is happening, she draws a long
ruler out of nowhere, places it over the name of my birthplace on
my passport and crosses it out with a fat marker. I lose my breath.
What did she just do?!

There is no chance to ask whats going...

10:21

A spike in illegal camping in the
nature reserve next to Brunswick Heads Surf Club is taking a toll
on native plants and animals there, with some campers bringing
cars, dogs and petrol-powered generators into the pristine
spot.

Despite Council attempts to block
vehicle access to the sprawling reserve, multiple campsites remain,
with some campers driving over native plants and shrubs to enter
the area.

Rohan Stewart from the Brunswick
Bush School said that in the four-and-a-half years he had been
coming to the reserve he had never seen so much illegal
camping.

Theres always been a few long-term
campers in there, but in the past six months its gone crazy, Mr
Stewart said.

Its not just people at the low end
of the income spectrum.

It looks like word has gotten around
that theres this great spot here where you can camp next to the
beach and the river, with public toilets nearby and free meals at
the community centre.

Mr Stewart supplied The Echo with pictures of
two large and elaborate campsites in the reserve that included
generators, fires and dogs.

Once you get people driving in
theyre able to bring in a whole lot more gear, he said.

Youre getting cars driving over
plants that took quite a while to grow, people cutting off branches
for firewood or access.

Bollards needed

This is an area where youve got
swamp wallabies, echidnas, goannas.

This would definitely be having an
impact on the native wildlife.

He said a couple of well-placed
bollards in the carpark would make it much harder for people to get
their cars in.

10:19

The COP24 summit in Poland has finally come out with an
agreement. The Unites States and Australia celebrated coal.
Brazils new
Jair Bolsonaro regime showed its climate warming skepticism.
Oil producing countries Russia,
Saudi and Kuwait, argued to slow things down. Despite this,
some progress was made.

Measures were supposed to be adopted to step up the
implementation of
2015 Paris Agreement. But a compromise was made to delay this
till 2020, when the next summit takes place in Chile. The agreement
says that commitments already entered into must have been met by
then.

The current path could result in the temperature rising by up to
3-4 degrees Celsius, according to the science. This suggests that
the global political establishment is not yet aligning with the
science.

Discussion in Poland concentrated on standardising reporting and
improving transparency. Both of these are needed. But this should
not delay stepping up action.

It is understandable that countries want to minimise the
negative impacts of making a transition. This is best achieved
through cooperation between nations and mutual assistance. The
longer it takes to do enough, the higher the cost will be.

Failure to act on a sufficient scale will destroy many species,
and upset the life cycle, on which human beings are also
dependent.

Changing weather patterns will mean that not enough food will be
available to feed the human population. Rising sea levels will mean
small countries disappearing and many cities being inundated.
Economic collapse, the failure of political institutions and social
turmoil will be inevitable.

What is clear, is that reliance on the political elite is not
enough. Only when there is sufficient pressure coming up from
below, is movement on the political stage possible. The
little progress that has been made has come about this way. It is
only the beginning, and much more is needed to lift the
game.

There must be a turning away from unrestricted capitalism that
always puts the private bot...

10:05

"Protester Daniel Heggie said the reindeer were being
exploited". By sick children and their families at the Brisbane
Children's Hospital. Charming people. Animals rights protesters
fronted a group of sick children and their families who were
meeting a pair of Santa's reindeer on Monday afternoon. Police were
called to remove...

Mr Pugh added that if we are elected next year we will govern in
the interests of every person in NSW, not a $40 billion
multinational corporation.

Shadow minister for better regulation, Yasmin Catley, recently
met with local businesses in Byron Bay to confirm Labors policy on
short term holiday letting. This policy includes:

Local councils being best placed to determine the cap on the
number of nights a property can be let short term

A register of short term holiday let properties so we can get
rid of the destructive party houses

The freedom for those who live in their house to rent out a
spare room or the whole house

Over the weekend Airbnb launched a campaign that included
emailing their property hosts across NSW. The campaign specifically
attacks Labor support for a registration system and Labors position
that councils are best placed to determine annual caps.

The email from Air BnB is signed off Sent with love from Airbnb
Ireland.

Airbnbs campaign letter against Labors
planned holiday-let controls.

I have advocated strongly for our community and we now have a
policy that allows flexibility for local councils to deal with
short term holiday letting properly. I will not be bullied by a
massive corporation sending emails from Ireland. Mr Pugh said.

I am asking for the communitys support to push back against this
campaign by Airbnb.

I have already been contacted by a number of people who received
this email from Airbnb. But ra...

Lifeguards identified six people in the water as they
conducted the mass rescue with rescue boards.All six are from
Sydney and are known to each other.

Two men, aged 35 and 45, were rescued from the water but were
unable to be resuscitated. A third man, aged 28, remains
missing.

Two girls, aged 15 and 17, and a 15-year-old boy, were rescued
from the water and taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital, where they
remain in a serious condition.

An air and water search was then conducted and continued until
dark.

Police Marine Area Command along with Surf Life Saving assets
including jetskis, IRBs and the SLSNW UAV team commenced a search
for the missing person again at 7am on Tuesday morning.

Our thoughts and hearts go out to the family of the victims and
to the brave lifeguards that responded and tried valiantly to save
everyone, said SLSNSW CEO Steven Pearce.

This terrible tragedy highlights the importance of swimming at
patrolled locations and understanding how to identify rips and the
dangers they present. An event like this unfolding so close to the
festive season only magnifies the grief and devastation.

Officers from Coffs/Clarence Police District are investigating
the incident and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

07:57

Both the Hang Seng and the Shanghai indices recovered from last
weeks poor data and the DOWs late Fridays decline. Volumes continue
thin and that appears to be spreading to many markets. It is not
uncommon to see markets drier ahead of the holiday season, but this
year it seems to gets more attention probably because prices are in
decline. Once the bounce back to unchanged was over, both played in
a narrow range to close fairly neutral. Japan on the other hand,
traded well following the open and managed a +0.65% gain on the
day. We are seeing renewed weakness in the Yen, in Asian trading,
but looks to have found the safe-haven bid again for the moment
anyway. A ray of hope was also displayed in Australia and India, as
both markets finished around 1% higher. Overall a fairly quiet
session awaiting China, the FED and Germanys IFO report.

Europe attempted to hold just slightly lower levels Monday, but
once the US markets opened that proved just too much of an ask!
Growing fears of a global slowdown continue to spread and recent
data tend to support that sentiment. China numbers Friday, followed
by further BREXIT and European uncertainty are all in the mix ahead
of the Federal Reserve and a devastatingly slow retail sector. Talk
this evening is that Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Leader) apparently
intended to propose a no-confidence motion in Theresa May, but then
decided he didnt need to after Theresa May tabled a date for the
Parliamentary vote ( Week of January 14th, 2019). If this vote were
to happen, it is in her and not the government. BREXIT and all its
shenanigans will continue for at least another three months, so
buckle in it could get wild! GBP however, has traded higher against
the USD as speculation that the FED holds after this weeks move.
Most core European bourses closed around 1% lower.

US markets have been heavy all day and are looking to close at
their lowest levels for the year. Having retreated from close to
15% from their highs, markets are trading nervous as we await the
FED and data starts to slow again. Housing numbers today were their
slowest in three years, but there was a pick-up in business
activity. Although volumes are better than their 20day average, the
20day average is still way down...

06:43

Get The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS here. What better
gift can you give than the truth that the political and media
elites are working indefatigably to obscure? What we must know
about 1400 years of the religion of peace, by Bill Muehlenberg,
Spectator Australia, December 16, 2018: The Communists relished
having hordes []

05:49

Weekly Geo-political News and
AnalysisSecret head of
world finance, Cardinal Pell, fired and big changes
comingBy Benjamin
Fulford, White
Dragon Society2018-12-17Last week Cardinal
George Pell was found guilty of sexually abusing children by an
Australian court and was subsequently fired by Pope Francis because
he was elderly.https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/12/cardinal-pell-top-advisor-pope-francis-found-guilty-historical-sexual-offensesThis is huge news in
the secret world of finance, because Pell was the person in charge
of financial matters at the Vatican and thus was a secret
controller of most world government leaders, P2 Freemason and CIA
sources say. This is because when most world rulers take power,
they get a visit from an official of the Vatican Bank who hands
them a bank book with an astronomical number written in it (a
billion dollars or more for big countries; less for smaller
countries). They are then told, Welcome to the world of the rich,
and are gently reminded that if they refuse to accept the money
they will be removed.This is the choice
of silver or lead that has allowed the Vatican P2 Freemason Lodge,
run by descendants of the Caesars, to secretly rule most world
governments. The 200 leaders who last week affirmed the fraudulent
carbon causes global warming agreement are all slaves of this
system, P2 Freemason and CIA sources agree.https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/12/14/18139402/cop24-climate-change-katowice-pol...

05:33

The ABS reported last week that births in
Australia remained very high in 2017 at 309,142, just below the
record high of 311,104 recorded for the preceding year.

Yesterday morning the bureau also reported that
permanent and long-term arrivals hit another record high of
+825,480 over the year to October 2018.

This represented a strong +6.1 per cent increase
from a year earlier, and was a world away from the +709,110 for the
year to October 2015.

Substantial numbers, indeed.

Education arrivals were also tracking at levels
suggesting that international student enrolments will remain an
ongoing force for demographic trends.

There were also 9.2 million short-term arrivals
over the year, comfortably up from 8.8 million a year earlier, as
the tourism boom powers on.

Rental market lags

Record high arrivals into a period where it's
rarely been tougher to get an investment loan across the line,
then.

My admittedly somewhat flaky models suggest that housing markets
could swing towards a rental shortage at the national level
ex-Sydney by the time of the election next year, once the
seasonally soft Xmas period has passed.

.........

05:30

On December 15 the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
announced that Australia recognizes West Jerusalem as a capital of
Israel, adding that Canberra "acknowledges the aspirations of the
Palestinian people for a future state with its capital in East
Jerusalem," thus abiding by the so-called two-state solution.
Tzachi Hanegbi, the Israeli minister for regional cooperation,
noted that Israel is not satisfied with the Australian decision to
recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in conjunction
with the acceptance of East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,
according to the Guardian. "Australia is a deep and intimate friend
of many years of Israel. We were happy to hear that it has an
interest to clarify its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital. But to our regret, within this positive news they made a
mistake. There is no division between the east of the city and the
west of the city. Jerusalem is one whole, united. Israel's control
over it is eternal," said...

01:56

By Kent Heckenlively, JD After having my talk at the
Commonwealth Club of California cancelled because of protests,
being thrown out of Age of Autism for daring to pen a few articles
for BolenReport, and being BANNED from speaking in Australia for
three years, I have a new honor. Ive been Snoped! If you dont
Continue
reading Oh No! I Just Got Snoped!
(Laugh Here)

01:54

Spy chiefs from the Five Eyes
intelligence network briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on two
occasions this year about the national-security risk from Chinese
high-tech giant Huawei meetings that took place months before
Canadas arrest of a top Huawei executive severely strained
relations with Beijing.

Sources say Mr. Trudeau met the spy
directors at a Five Eyes meeting in mid-July in Nova Scotia and at
secret intelligence talks on the sidelines of the Commonwealth
summit in London in April, where Huawei and its ties to the Chinese
government dominated discussion.

By ROBERT FIFE AND STEVEN CHASE
The Globe and Mail

Justin Trudeau

The Five Eyes network is made up of
Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand,
which co-operate to combat espionage, terrorism and global
crime.

During the discussions in Halifax
and London, sources said the spy chiefs stressed that their
countries cannot become dependent upon Huaweis 5G technology
because they view the Shenzen-based company as beholden to the
Chinese state. Under Chinese law, the countrys companies must work
with Chinas intelligence agencies if requested.

Senior federal officials, including
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, would not discuss the
Five Eyes deliberations on Huawei.

CSIS will not comment on the nature
or substance of meetings held with its Five Eyes partners. Canadas
relationship with these partners remains strong and is focused on
keeping Canada safe from a variety of threats, CSIS chief
information officer Tahera Mufti said in a statement.

Mr. Trudeau is facing a difficult
decision on whether to join the majority of his Five Eyes allies
and bar Huawei equipment from being used in next-generation 5G
mobile networks.

...

00:31

December 16, 2018 The foreign minister of Bahrain has defended
Australias formal recognition of the so-called West Al-Quds
(Jerusalem) as Israeli capital, saying the move would not affect a
future Palestinian state with East Al-Quds as its capital.
Australias government announced the decision on Saturday, reversing
decades of Middle East policy, but said it would []

00:15

A federal statutory body, the Australian Commission for Law
Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) has been in existence since
December 2006 and is headed by the
Integrity Commissioner. The current Integrity Commissioner
is Michael Griffin AM.

There is also a Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACLEI.

The Morrison plan for a new Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) intends to retain
the ACLEI as one of two divisions within the CIC and expand the
number of government agencies within this first divisions
jurisdiction from twelve (12) to sixteen (16) otherwise it is
business as usual for the multi-agency ACLEI.

At the same time the Morrison
Government intends the over-arching CIC to have a second division
the Public Sector Division - without the full powers of
statutory anti-corruption commissions.

21:39

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's stubborn
endorsement of the UN Global Migration Pact has brought his
government to its knees and caused massive demonstrations against
the Pact in Belgium. Charles Michel now governs with a minority,
because the center-right Flemish N-VA has walked out over the PM's
move to have Belgium support a UN migration pact. The Prime
Minister is now trying to govern with assorted and reshuffled
Liberals and Christian Democrats. The upcoming Migration Pact has
divided international alliances: Austria, Hungary, the US, Israel,
Australia and several other states rejecting the accord.
[1]Belgium's migration minister, Theo Francken, commented on
Thursday, "It's way too pro-migration. It doesn't have the nuance
that it needs to have to also comfort European citizens." He said
that, although it was not legally binding, it was also not without
legal risks. He said that wide interpretation of human rights laws
in EU courts were "tying the hands of migration policy-makers."
[2]

The Belgian government has split apart after Prime
Minister Charles Michel ignored the objections of his ruling
coalitions biggest party and insisted he would sign the UN
migration pact.

The Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party quit
the government following crisis talks over the weekend, prompting
Michel to announce he would travel to Marrakesh to sign the
controversial compact representing a minority government.

Stepping down as interior minister on Sunday, the N-VAs Jan
Jambon told local media I think that, formally speaking, we are
stepping down. We said that if the coalition goes to Marrakesh, it
will be without us.

The patriotic party had previously produced a list of 30
objections to signing the so-called Global Compact on Safe and
Orderly Migration including a lack of differentiation between
illegal and legal flows, and questions over whether the agreement,
which declares mass immigration to be inevitable, desirable and
necessary, could have a chilling effect on objective
journalism.

Vice Prime Minister Alexander De Croo rebuffed the N-VA for
branding the parties set to sign Belgium up to the UN document as a
Marrakesh coalition, asserting that ministers will continue to have
firm but humane migration policies because no one in this
government want....

21:26

The
PortalThe Intelligence
Hub for the Victory of LightSunday, December 16,
2018Yellow Vests and
the Vortex of ParisOn November 10th,
1793, there was an activation of Goddess of Reason and Liberty in
the Notre Dame church in Paris:https://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2017/11/goddess-reason-enthroned.htmlThat church was the
location of the temple of Isis in Roman times:https://gnosticwarrior.com/the-parisii-of-isis.htmlWhere initiates into
the Goddess mysteries still meet today:http://secretebase.free.fr/complots/edifices/paris/paris.htmExactly 225 years
after the activation of Goddess of Reason, certain Goddess
priestesses of the Resistance Movement came to the surface in Paris
and did a special planetary kundalini activation.The activation was
taking place from November 8th to November 11th, 2018, during the
meeting of the world leaders in Paris. The second basement DOES
exist, although the waitress denied it.This activation
served as a trigger for planetary kundalini awakening where people
will finally rise up against the oppression of the Dark
forces....

21:15

This comes courtesy of the Daily Mail - the photos from
Christmas Island came to us from Shaz of CI and were first
published here on this website. I can think of at least one
Australian war veteran who lives overseas but has to return for
medical treatment who will...

20:51

As we move towards the end of 2018 - the 7th year I've been at
this - I need your help to keep going more than ever. I wouldn't do
it if I didn't think is was worthwhile. I wouldn't do it if I
thought someone else would. And I...

20:37

TURC hearing into CFMEU officials and their apparent destruction
of evidence subject to TURC's Notices to Produce Monday, 21
September 2015 AT 2PM the Commission commenced its hearing, former
National President of the CFMEU Dave Hanna in the witness box. Ms
McNaughton opened by having Mr Hanna confirm the names...

20:15

Unbelievable. Covered up the video cameras. Destroyed tonnes of
documents as they were being called by the Royal Commission. Fought
the charges, didn't cooperate, plea of not guilty. And walks free
on a bond. An ex-union boss has avoided jail after being found
guilty of dumping and burning tonnes of...

We are in New York City, at a
ramen place near her apartment in Astoria, Queens, and Ms. Stone,
who stars in Orange Is the New Black, has barely touched her soup.
She tells me she hasnt been sleeping for the better part of a
year.

Its not just her 6-month-old baby
whos keeping her up, but her decision to come forward for the first
time and speak to me about her experiences with Geoffrey Rush, one
of the most powerful actors in her native Australia.

Geoffrey Rush

Most women who go public with
#MeToo stories are fearful for obvious reasons. There is the pain
of reliving traumatic experiences. There is the rage of not being
believed. And there is sometimes the discomfort of admitting, as
Ms. Stone readily does, that she didnt say no and at times even
encouraged some of his behavior. She did so, she says, out of fear
of offending a mentor and friend.

But Ms. Stone isnt just afraid of
the emotional consequences of talking about her allegations against
Mr. Rush, her onetime hero, including that he danced naked in front
of her in their dressing room, used a mirror to watch her while she
showered and sent her occasionally erotic text messages while she
was 25 years old and starring oppositeMr. Rush, then 59, on stage in
The Diary of a
Madman in 2010 and 2011.

It was great to engage with an audience that in the West is
increasingly viewed as conservative and intolerant. The Polish
journalist told me that this view is inaccurate and public opinion
is far more diverse on matters of immigration and refugees.

19:00

All this powerfully
supports our primary contention that the Bronze Age sea route in
the Atlantic took the Gulf Stream from the latitude of
Bimini/Georgia to the Latitude of the Isle of Lewis. Thus the
populations of northern Ireland and Western Scotland in particular
has to intermingle with populations in the SE USA.

The Atlantean fleet
sailed every year for well over a thousand years at the height of
the Bronze Age and the circle route sustained traffic after 1159 BC
right past the Roman era into the Northern Iron Age in
Europe. Plenty of folks made that trip and it is reasonable
to understand the populating of Eastern North America and plausibly
into Mexico and the Andes in pursuit of metal as well as driven by
this copper trade feeding Europe and the
Mediterranean.

Thus we have DNA
identifiers of Northern Europe and the Levant but nothing unique to
Eastern North America. It is thus highly plausible that
this human traffic has always been the big picture.

The actual transit
before 1159 BC was close and obvious as well. Even today it
is a summer time trip westward in a large row boat as has been
done. Then you had Lyonese to get you half way there and the
Azores as well and the Bahama Bank all above water. These all
were on the circle route as well.

Thus traffic starting
over ten thousand years ago is completely reasonable and even
likely as it was easy enough in the summer time. The same
held true for Australia and other supposed sea
barriers.

.

......

18:42

Governments and corporations are now
demonising cash, under whatever pretext the corporations think of
this month, in order to gain full access to the tax slaves
movements, which then can be used to control their lives.

Apparently now, if you save money for a
'rainy day' (plenty of those in Melbourne), then you're branded
with a negative connotation that being of a hoarder.

Many humans from the herd population love
the (digital) slavery they're in, i.e. being a 'product' that gives
data way to corporations for very little reward, like $2 for every
50 litres of fuel purchased, for surrendering their docket, which
contains the purchaser's history within that docket.

The forcing of people to go cashless is not
for the benefit to those people, but rather government and
corporations, although there are many arguments put forward, where
convenience is pushed as the main selling point.

18:19

Listeners to BBC Radio 4s Today programme on
December 15th heard the following (from 05:06here) in a news bulletin
presented by Alan Smith. [emphasis in italics in the original,
emphasis in bold added]

Smith: Australia says it now
recognises West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but it wont be
moving its embassy from Tel Aviv at this stage. The prime minister
Scott Morrison has also acknowledged the aspirations of
Palestinians for a future state with its capital in East
Jerusalem. The divided city, where the Israeli
parliament is located, is not internationally recognised as the
countrys capital. Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.

Apparently BBC Radio 4 along with the BBCs
correspondent in Sydney is so used to using the politically
partisan term East Jerusalem that it has forgotten that although
Jerusalem was indeed divided during the nineteen-year period of the
unrecognisedJordanian occupationthat began in 1948, it was ...

18:03

The news would have its readers believe that
were in the end times that climate change has reached the point of
no return and the world is on the brink of nuclear wear.
Unfortunately the hopeful and inspiring stories tend to pass by far
too quickly, but if you look for them, theyre always there. Some
are the result of years worth of work, research and investments,
while others come about simplyby accident.

Take the Great Barrier Reef, for instance.
Coral reefs account for a measly 1% of the entire ocean on planet
Earth. Despite the miniscule amount of surface area they cover,
coral reefs provide food and shelter to one quarter of all marine
life. Reefs also support marine life that ends up in the human food
chain, feeding a whopping one billion of us.

Thanks to a little thing called bleaching,
about two thirds of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has been
killed off due to a rise in temperature, thought to have been
brought on by global warming. The statistics are
alarming.

Thankfully, and completely by accident, Dr.
David Vaughan from theMote Marine
Laboratoryin Florida, may have found
a way to reverse that devastating loss.

Coral ordinarily takes 25 to 75 years to reach
sexual maturity, meaning it can take up to six years to plant 600
coral. This fact alone is one reason the bleaching of the Great
Barrier Reef is so alarming. But thanks to Dr. Vaughan, we may be
able to help coral grow forty times faster!

He had been trying to remove a
coral from the bottom of a tank when it broke into a dozen pieces.
To his shock, all of the pieces regrew to the same size in just
three short weeks, as opposed to the three years it had taken to
grow the original coral.

The process of fragmenting coral to encourage
regrowth is nothing new. In fact, the pro...

17:35

This month the ACCC released a long-overdue report into the way
Facebook and Google have changed the media in Australia and the
world. Here are a few quotes: ...the impact of digital platforms
(ie Facebook and Google) on the supply of news and journalism is
particularly significant. News and journalism...

16:29

Kanowna solar farm near Moree believed to be first to use both
DC optimisers and centralised DC-coupled inverters to cater for
battery storage and get around network connection hurdles. The post
Solar farms getting smaller, cheaper and smarter to overcome grid
hurdles appeared first on RenewEconomy.

16:21

A new paper with many authors
most prominently Joseph Henrich tries to measure the cultural gaps
between different countries. I am reproducing a few of their
results (see pp.36-37 for more), noting that higher numbers
represent higher gaps:

Distance from the U.S.

Algeria: 0.15

Australia: 0.03

Brazil: 0.07

Canada: 0.02

China: 0.17

Ecuador: 0.12

Egypt: 0.24

Ethiopia: 0.14

Georgia [the country]: 0.15

Hong Kong: 0.09

Indonesia: 0.19

Japan: 0.11

Malaysia: 0.12

Nigeria: 0.15

Switzerland: 0.06

Egypt is the most distant, then Yemen, with Canada as the
closest.

As for cultural distance from China, we
have:

Great Britain: 0.20

Hong Kong: 0.09

Japan: 0.14

Russia: 0.09 (not *so* far away)

Taiwan: 0.10

Vietnam: 0.06

Overall the numbers show much greater cultural distance of other
nations from China than from the United States, a significant and
under-discussed problem for China. For instance, the United
States is about as culturally close to Hong Kong as China is.

14:19

Published on Dec 16,
2018European auto
resignations plunge, this is not a good sign, we are seeing auto
sales in the US and Europe decline. Home prices in Australia,
Canada and Europe are declining, the housing prices in the US are
also dropping, bubble is deflating. Q posted how the Fed is going
to be taken down by gold, Trump confirms this by his past comments
on gold. The timing will be everything but the build up to
contradict and bring the Fed down is in the works.Published on Dec 16, 2018Texas Judge rules
Obamacare is unconstitutional. Robert Mueller gives the 302's to
the Judge. Clinton answers questions under oath and can't remember
20 of them. The MSM is preparing for video and other news by
telling everyone do not believe what you see or hear. Anons
explains whats coming up.